Sugar Rush
by X-Sparker
Summary: Roxas lived like a prince in a fairytale; Axel lived a nightmare. Roxas doesn't understand: why can't people love each other and be honest? :AkuRoku 2008 Valentine's Day 3-shots. beware shonen-ai, cross-dressing & possible OOC-ness. rated T for language:
1. Part 1 of 3

**Sugar Rush**

Disclaimer: The moment Kingdom Hearts was released as Square Enix and Disney's product, it already meant that no one else could own it. Neither do I own any rights of designs of Lincoln automobiles or Toyota cars. And certainly not Barbie or any associated characters. Nor any design rights of any Gucci products.

Warning: AkuRoku romance below. Boy-boy relationship. Rated T for language.

A/N: Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I forgot to update this on the right day... :( oh well, sorry. Happy belated Valentine's Day! This was going to be a V's Day one-shot, but apparently my writing length issues _refused_. XD

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Pt.1 

It was a wide fine day at the Strife's. Birds were chirping in the grand regal garden; the sky was a healthy hue of cornflower blue; the sun reflected beams off of the gilded and gemmed gates of the Strife manor. Guards stood stiff and straightened at the gate, expressionless.

Before the majestic cherry wood entrance of the grandiose manor stood a maid, the Lord of the Manor and his son.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Lord Roxas?" The gentle woman asked, hands gripping the boy's worriedly.

"I will be fine, Selphie." The handsome young man replied reassuringly with an innocent smile, patting her hand, "Please tell Mother to take care."

"I will be sure to serve Madam Aerith well." Selphie nodded her head, concerned expression still visible.

"Well then," Roxas nodded slightly to the nanny that has raised him for years and then to the much older, taller blond male beside her, "I'll be going." With that, he turned away from his court of escort that consisted of ten people and walked down the stairs into the old 30s-styled Lincoln limousine.

Selphie turned to the Manor Lord, "Sir Cloud, are you not going to stop him?"

The solemn man waved an arm slightly, "No, no, Selphie; the boy has yet to learn of this world. He is too young. This shall open his eyes." He calmed the housekeeper, returning back into the large mansion.

----

It was Roxas' first time into the city. He was fascinated as their car drives down boulevards and avenues; his bright cerulean eyes never leaving from the window. Firstly, there were these strange looking things that resembled a large fat ladybug running alongside their car, with a name 'Toyota Hybrid' plated onto the back.

"Oh my!" The naïve boy exclaimed, "What are these? They too run on four wheels like our automobile, yet they look nothing like cars!"

"My Lord, that is a hybrid car." The driver replied, "They are designed to preserve fuels."

"Oh how great it is that the people are so thoughtful of this world!" Roxas smiled, catching a glimpse of an oddly loud bird in the sky, "My goodness! That's one peculiar looking bird!"

"Actually, that is an airplane, sir." The driver corrected the boy, finding it awfully funny that Roxas knew nothing of the modern world, "It is not a bird."

"Oh boy I have to tell Mother of all these amazing things!" Roxas pulled out a notebook made of parchment papers and starting taking notes of the new things he's just seen. A loud horn distracted him, though; he looked up and found an enormous boat sailing down the river.

"I've never seen a boat that big!"

"It's a cargo ship, Lord Roxas." The driver informed again, "Sire, I'm afraid we won't be able to get to the bakery in time with this intervention."

"Intervention? What intervention?" Roxas blinked obliviously.

"The cargo ship is passing through the bridge; this might take at least twenty minutes." The driver pointed to the front where the Tower Bridge of London was pulling up for the cargo ship to pass through.

"Oh my God! The bridge has broken into two halves!!" The boy exclaimed.

"No, no, sire." The driver laughed, "The bridge is designed to be able to pull up for ships to pass by; please do not worry yourself. But we might be late for the first day of your first job, I'm sorry."

"Oh I'm sure they will understand." Roxas said without a concern.

----

Roxas was thirty minutes late to his job when they arrived; but he couldn't be any more excited. The pastry shop was decorated in pink and white; the satin curtains had laces on them; roses were a common symbol; and the display shelf at the front, Roxas thought, was the most dazzling gem in its own sense. So happily he skipped into the store, titled 'Highwind Pastry and Confectionery'.

"Hello!" He exclaimed to the girl behind the counter, "I'm Roxas and I will be working here starting from today! Nice to meet you!" He held out a hand for a shake, but the greeting was not returned.

The girl had smooth black hair falling down to her shoulder, dark eyes and a bored expression. The clothes she was wearing were apparently too dark for the shop. She glared at the blonde boy, eyeing him up and down for a moment before yelling into the back of the store, "CIIIIIIID!! The new boy's here!!"

"Tifa, for the millionth time, DON'T YELL!!" An intimidating man with a cigarette hanging on his lips stormed out, before stopping dead in his track and glared at Roxas like Tifa did.

"Hello! I'm Roxas; thanks for hiring me!"

Cid looked at the clock on the wall, and turned back to the blond, "YOU'RE THIRTY MINUTES LATE!! On the first day! What the hell do you think this is?! Little Barbie's pastry kitchen with Ken?! Be late again and you're fired!!!"

Poor little Roxas was_traumatized_. He hung his head low in guilt, tears ready fall out any minute. So much for being sure they will understand.

After reconditioning his mood, Roxas was generally briefed over the details of being a bakery shop's cashier. He was very disappointed because the reason he applied for the job was not to become a cashier, but a pastry chef. But of course Cid Highwind refused to let the late new employee step into the kitchen, so Tifa got unexpectedly promoted and moved into the kitchen (not like she was a good cashier anyway) while Roxas took her place.

"Hey, Aunty Yuna from across the street just sent in this." Cid mumbled, bringing up an awfully cute (for a girl) pink and white Lolita dress, "This would go just fine with the image of the store, so one of you two must wear it." He said to the only two cashiers, one being Roxas and the other a tanned blond boy, Tidus.

Tidus first looked at Cid skeptically, before saying, "There's no way I'm wearing that."

Roxas widened his eyes at his unhelpful colleague before shaking his head, a frown forming as Cid grinned maliciously at him. Tifa sniggered, "Roxas, you're bound for it. It won't fit Tidus anyway; and there's no one else here who needs to wear it."

Therefore poor little Roxas was forced into the outfit and stood behind the counter like a doll to smile at the customers and cashing. It was totally out of what he expected. So much for becoming a pastry chef.

-- Somewhere along the streets of London --

He was dreadfully hungry; his abused stomach growled violently in protest. Weakly he sat up from his position with the support of his bony limbs to glare into the bowl, only to found two rusted pennies sitting at the bottom. He sighed, his emerald eyes growing duller every second. This was too much; life was too much.

His attention diverted from the two tarnished coins to high heels knocks against the cold concrete pavement of the city of London. A well-off looking lady, most likely a businesswoman, walked down the street steadily. The pitiful beggar first thought maybe she's nice and will give him a pound or so; but that hope was shattered when she turned and opened the door to a shop.

He then noticed the sickly enthusiastic pink stickers on the door. 'Highwind Pastry and Confectionery'. He never knew there was a bakery shop right next to his spot… His stomach growled again, the hollow organ never ceased to be hungry. Looking up again, he could barely see the cakes and candies displayed out on the glass shelf. More growling. The snow white icing on the cake sparkled under the lights, sugary caramel frosting danced in his eyes, practically begging to be devoured.

He made up his mind. He knew what he was going to do is wrong; but it's what one must do to survive. Standing feebly, he made sure his black beanie securely covered his noticeable crimson hair and went up to the shop.

People were chatting casually in the shop; no one noticed him. Timidly he went up to the cashier girl with short blond hair and bright blue eyes in a Lolita skirt. "Hi, how can I help you?"

"I-I… I'm looking for… a cake." He stuttered, hanging his head low.

"What type of cake? We have Black Forest cake, Cheesecake, Angel Food cake, Cupcakes, Birthday cake, Tiramisu and oh! Wedding cake!" The cashier listed gently. The beggar didn't know there were some many types of cakes; whatever, just choose a random one.

"Um… Angel Food cake please."

"How much? A slice? Two slices? Or a whole cake?"

"Just one slice." He said, starting to get impatient. The girl nodded understandingly and disappeared behind a refrigerator shelf, getting a slice of the cake out. She put it into a box neatly and wrapped it, "Here you go. Thank you." She handed him the box, "That would be 3 pounds."

He took it, stared at the pink box, and ran. He ran with what little strength he had left, throwing away the last piece of dignity. He could hear the cashier yelling after him, chasing after him. He just kept sprinting. He hoped she wouldn't recognize him. Damn it, the cashier runs pretty fast considering she's a girl. His legs were starting to give out. He didn't run very far; he couldn't. He hadn't eaten for days. He counted down the seconds until she caught him by the shoulder. This is the end.

"Y-You haven't paid… yet…" The girl panted, grabbing the corner of his black tight long sleeve.

"I don't have any money." He replied plainly, "I'm sorry."

"A-Are you… stealing?" She frowned. She must have a very dense head.

"Yes." He answered after a pause.

"Why would you do that?" She inquired, "Don't steal; it's bad. Don't do bad things, you'll get punished."

Oh, if only he had a choice!

"Like I need you to tell me that…" He panted; his lungs were burning.

"Then why did you steal? You should be honest; if you are honest, good things will happen to you."

Now he was starting to get irritated, "Where are you from? Mars? Do you know where you are right now? You're in 21st century London! Honesty won't get you anywhere! Honesty won't fill up your stomach! Food will! But this is London, you can't get food without money. You can't survive without money!"

The innocent girl seemed to be shocked by this, "Why would you say that?! That's terrible! Money can't buy everything! Money shouldn't be what we live on!"

He laughed; which was more like barking coarsely, "Are you kidding me? You believe in that stuff?! Wow… Let me tell you something, little Miss: in this world, there's no such thing as unselfish people. Everyone –_everyone_ – only cares about themselves. No one is not greedy, I tell ya. Honesty? Bullshit. You be honest and people turn their backs on you; you be honest and people cheat on you; you be honest and people steal your money away. Money can't buy everything; but without money you can't buy anything."

Roxas' frown deepened; this guy makes him so angry!

"That's not true!"

"Oh yeah?" He retorted, "Then tell me why that guy took my money and ran away?!" He shook the blonde by the shoulder, "Tell me why I trusted him, and he lied to me in return?!! Tell me why!!! Tell me why he lied to me when I thought he was my friend?!!!!" He was trembling with tears; his voice was breaking. He frowned intensely, his hands squashed the pink box of cake and threw it down into a corner, "Fuck!!"

Roxas didn't know what to say. He himself was covered in tears and fear. The beggar dropped to the ground, leaning onto the dirty wall. Roxas whimpered, moving a little closer to the stranger, "I-I'm s-sorry… H-Here… Take this…" He held out his palm which had a few pounds on it. The man slapped it away violently, the coins falling with clear clinks.

"I don't need your pity!" He bawled, "You've torn down my dignity… Go, get away. I don't want to see you…"

"I-I'm sorry…" Roxas sobbed as he stood up, "I'm Roxas… I… I'm actually a boy…"

The guy looked up to the blonde, "You're fucking weird…"

"I'm sorry…" Roxas mumbled in fear again, "W-Won't you tell me your name…?"

"Axel…" He replied lifelessly, "My name's Axel… Now get lost!" He curled up into his knees.

Roxas wiped his tears in a futile attempt to stop them and ambled back to the store. Tifa ran up to him, "Roxas? What was that? Did you catch that guy?"

"O-Oh! Um, erhm, y-yeah." The blonde dug out three coins from his pocket, "He paid me back. So, don't get him in trouble or anything, okay?"

"What, why?" The black-haired girl asked confusedly, "Do you know him?"

"N-No." Roxas replied in an innocent high-pitched tone, "I mean, he paid back, right? So, no troubles, right?"

"Well…" The girl shrugged, accepting the alibi Roxas made for Axel, "As long as he paid back…"

"What's going on? Did Roxas catch the thief?" Cid poked his head out from the door to the kitchen.

"Yeah." Tifa turned and replied, "The guy paid." She showed him the three coins. The muscular blond man barked happily, "Good job Roxas!" He went up to the boy and patted his back with his flour-covered hands, "Maybe I'll consider letting you into the kitchen!"

Frankly, Roxas was not happy when he heard that.

-- Later that day --

"Welcome home, Lord Roxas." Ten young maids greeted and bowed simultaneously at the front doorway towards the foyer hall. Selphie went up to the exhausted boy with a gentle smile and helped him take off his coat, "How was your first day, Lord Roxas?"

The blond boy faked a smile, "It was great! I got to bake cookies and I learned a lot!"

Selphie, having been with the boy since his infancy, knew right away that he was lying. She frowned deeply, "Lo-"

"I'm tired!" Roxas sighed dramatically, handing Selphie his coat, "Don't count me in for dinner. I will sleep early tonight." With that and his fake smile, he went straight up to his room. Cloud passed by him and trailed his eyes behind his son; Selphie strode up to her master, "Sir Cloud, forgive my insolence but I told you this shall not go well. Lord Roxas seemed so disappointed!"

"H-How is my dear son doing?" A weak voice interrupted their conversation. Selphie looked up to the staircase behind her and exclaimed, "Madam Aerith! You should be in bed!" She rushed up and lent an arm to the fragile lady who already had three other maids helping her.

"Oh, Selphie, you worry too much." Aerith smiled unconvincingly, "I feel perfectly fine today! So tell me, how has Roxas been?"

"He is-"

"Our boy is maturing very fast, my dear." Cloud grinned reassuringly as he walked up to the stairs to hold Aerith's hands, "He is growing just fine."

"Sir Cloud…" Selphie still frowned.

"Now, Selphie." Cloud comforted, "I believe it is almost supper. Come, Aerith, we haven't had supper together for quite a while now."

----

It was the first weekend break Roxas has from work. The boy would've stayed home and played in the garden normally. But this year it was bound to be different. He woke up early at eight in the morning and ate breakfast by himself quietly (other times he would've waited until ten when his parents wake up). Then soon he left the mansion for the city. The driver was told to drive down to the bakery and was then brought into a prolonged searching that consisted of driving along narrow alleys and making multiple U-turns when they went the wrong direction.

Roxas was just barely able to catch a glance of those haunting emerald eyes before they crossed the toll across a controlled area.

"Stop!" The blond yelled, startling the chauffeur. The man did what he was told and parked the car to a side hastily.

"This is fine, thank you." He left the car, handing the driver a banknote of 10 pounds, "Don't tell anyone about this visit, please. Just drive around here as you wish; I shall be back before noon." After saying this he left quickly, crossing the crosswalk and disappeared around the corner.

There he was. Sitting at the entrance of the subway with nothing to do. Roxas wondered if he always loitered like that. He had so many questions to ask that guy. So many things he wanted to tell him. Roxas didn't know why he wanted to do that, but the way Axel viewed the world needed some serious correction, or so Roxas thought.

But as the blond approached closer he was not unnoticed. Green eyes met blue ones and soon Axel was pacing down the street, trying to get away from the stalking blonde.

"Wait!" Roxas called out, his short legs a terrible disadvantage to Axel's thin but long ones.

Axel turned around and walked backwards, "You again?! What are you trying to do?! Are you stalking me?!"

"I still don't think what you said was right!" Roxas yelled for Axel was at least ten feet away. The redhead rolled his eyes agitatedly and turned back around, his legs starting to walk faster and eventually they were running down the street. It was a Sunday morning and there weren't a lot of people there.

"Wait up!" Roxas shouted out but to no avail. In a split second his foot tripped over a rock, "Ahh!"

Axel was just about to turn around the corner until he heard the blond's agonized cry. He couldn't help but stop dead and turn around. Roxas was on the ground, palm scratched from the fall. Groaning with irritation, Axel walked up to the boy.

"Why are you so clumsy?" The redhead said in a scolding tone, arms wrapping around Roxas' shoulder to support the blond up. They went over (Roxas hopped) to a large circular fountain of a park and Roxas sat down on the concrete rim. The blond hissed and his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Let me see." Axel demanded, taking hold of Roxas' wrist. The scratch wound wasn't deep, just some puny beads of blood seeping along the lines, already starting to dry up.

"It's just a scratch." Axel commented jeeringly, "Is it really that painful for you?"

Roxas nodded, having barely ever experienced pain.

"Fine. I'll need water, mercurochrome and some band-aids for this." He said, looking into Roxas' eyes. The boy merely replied with confused stare.

"I need to go to the pharmacy and I don't have any money." Axel explained it in simpler terms. Roxas let out an 'oh!' and dug for his wallet with the other hand.

"Stay here, okay? Don't go anywhere." Axel instructed and stood up, scanning around to locate himself on his mental map (years of loitering had enabled him to memorize the map of the city). Knowingly he started walking off to a direction; for the first time in years he was walking amongst the streets of London with a purpose.

He paused at a pedestrian island, suddenly noticing Roxas' wallet secured in his hand. It was a white bi-fold Gucci wallet. Axel scoffed mentally, finding it ridiculous that Roxas didn't believe money was superior while he was enjoying some luxury that the commons didn't have. Flipping through, he found two notes of 10 pounds. Man is this kid rich… A spurt of darkness suddenly sprouted in the redhead's heart.

_Go ahead, Axel, take the wallet and run away!_ A little devilish Axel appeared on his right shoulder, _with this money, you can finally eat something good for a week!_

_No! Don't try to steal again, Axel!_ An angelic Axel appeared on the other shoulder, _Roxas was right; you shouldn't have stolen… Maybe it's true that being a good guy doesn't always get you something back, but being the bad guy is never going to get you anything good back!_

_You shut up you little pest!_ The devil screeched, _that kid is filthy rich! It's people like him that made the world the way it is! Twenty pounds are nothing to him; this wallet itself takes more than a hundred pounds!_

_But you're not only taking twenty pounds away with you if you walk away!_ The angel argued, _if you walk away, you're stealing away his faith too! Look at him, Axel! Look at that poor boy! He's hurt and he's sitting there, waiting for you! He believes that you will come back, even though there's a high chance you might run away! Are you going to just throw that away?!_

Axel listened to his own conscience arguing and turned to look at Roxas. Sure enough, the boy was sitting there beside the fountain, looking around worriedly yet faithfully; always just waiting… just waiting for Axel to come back. _Like an angel waiting for the lost human knight…_

_Bwah! Screw his faith! His faith can't fill up Axel's stomach!_ The devil retorted, _our buddy is barely even standing!_

_Axel, if you are going to walk away just like this, you're basically doing to Roxas what __**he**__ did to you!_ The angel finally reminded the redhead of his painful experience. Snapping his mind back into those dark memories, Axel shook his head determinedly, _I'm not like him… I will not do what he did… I hate him and I will never do onto someone what he did to me… _With that thought in mind, the devil was banished into the deepest black hole and cut off forever. The green pedestrian light was on by then; the redhead quickly crossed the rest of the crosswalk and went for the pharmacy.

Roxas only waited for ten minutes before Axel came running back, medical supplies in hands. The blond let the redhead run water over his wound, wincing when the skin burned. Then the injured area was treated with mercurochrome, which was accompanied with more hissing from the blonde; but to allay the pain the redhead also blew tenderly over the chapped wound, showing care in front of Roxas for the first time. At last a band-aid was applied, and Roxas was well again.

"Here." Axel handed Roxas all the chemicals, "These are all yours."

"Huh?" Roxas tilted his head cutely, "But you got them…"

"With your money." Axel added straightforwardly.

"Oh, whatever!" Roxas shoved them into Axel's arms, "You need them more than I do. You don't have anything."

"Gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious…" The redhead sulked.

"I'm sorry!" Roxas took Axel's joke seriously. The older male laughed, "I'm just kidding. You really are easily fooled."

"No I'm not!" Roxas pouted

"Yes you are. For instance, the way you just gave me your wallet just now." Axel pointed out as he looked at the half-clear sky, "I could've just ran away with it. And you'd be sitting here until dusk before realizing that you've been tricked."

Roxas' heart did a shameful drop when he realized Axel was right; nevertheless he smiled, "But you came back, didn't you? You're not really that bad, Axel."

"That's the problem. It's not every day you meet someone not truly bad and eventually you'll get cheated." Axel said, standing up to leave, "You're too honest."

"Is that a bad thing?" Roxas asked after him, "Is being honest a bad thing?"

The redhead stopped, truly considering the question this time, "…No. It's…It's not a bad thing. It's… It's fine."

Roxas stood at the side of the fountain, a smile spreading through.


	2. Part 2 of 3

**Sugar Rush**

Disclaimer: Don't own any KH rights. Nor Henry Poole & Co. rights. Nor Converse designs.

Warning: AkuRoku romance below. Boy-boy relationship. Rated T for language.

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Pt.2

-- Another week has passed… --

Cid let out a loud sigh, peeking into the front of the store through the blinds in his office where one could see Tidus making wild movements while trying to properly place trays of cupped crème brûlée and strawberry soufflé. Turning to the other blinds he could see Tifa dropping a pot of chocolate mousse, disrupting Yuffie in the middle of her cake-baking.

He heaved another sigh, mentally apologizing to his deceased wife for ruining her legacy, "Is there no one here who could sustain the store…?"

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a cake. But it can't contain vanilla, chocolate or pecans. My sons are allergic to them." a voice out at the front ordered.

Judging by how he has seen his wife and Yuffie make their desserts, it would be pretty hard to find a cake that had none of those three. First off, vanilla extract was almost in every single cake; so is chocolate.

"Oh! We have a solution to that!" Roxas' voice took less than thirty seconds to reply. "Here…" Cid peeked through the blinds, watching as the blond went behind the cake refrigerator and pulled a cake out. "This is an apple cinnamon cheesecake. It does not contain vanilla, chocolate or pecans. It does, however, contain walnuts and oats; are you alright with that?"

"Oh my husband's allergic to walnuts…" The brunette lady sighed, "I'm sorry, am I making it hard for you?"

"Oh no! Not at all!" Roxas grinned cheerfully, "In fact, we might have another cake that suits you also…" He put the apple cinnamon cheesecake back and pulled out another cake. "This is a Daiquiri Cheesecake with Strawberry sauce. It is made purely of normal cheesecake ingredients with lime and strawberry for syrup. No vanilla, chocolate, pecans or walnuts. If you don't want rum for the kids, our chef can take that out."

"Oh, no no. My sons are old enough to drink." The lady laughed, "Thank you. I'll take this one."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Roxas smiled with hospitality.

"Oh, is it possible to make it a birthday cake?"

"Absolutely." The blond nodded and pulled out an order form, "Please fill out this form and sign here, here and here. I will make a note for the chef to use caramel instead for the writings."

"Thank you so much. I looked everywhere and all the stores are full of sponge cakes with vanilla. Gosh… I don't know what I'm gonna do if I haven't met you." The woman giggled as she signed out the form as Roxas told her so.

"It's my pleasure, madam." Roxas replied when taking the form and ran the credit card through the cashier machine. "Your cake should be ready this afternoon at around four o'clock. Thank you and have a nice day."

The lady exited the store with a relieved smile on her face. Roxas grinned to himself as he turned around to put the order form into the chef's inbox.

"Roxas," Cid's solemn voice startled the blond. "Come 'ere for a sec." He waved his fingers gently, face solemn. Roxas followed after him fretfully.

"Yuffie." Cid called when he entered the kitchen, "This kid." He placed an arm behind Roxas' back, "Teach him how to bake."

"HUH?!" Tifa said unintelligently, "What is this?!"

"Are you sure, Cid?" The female chef with short hair asked. Roxas blinked, still trying to catch up with what just happened.

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded seriously, "He's got the stuff for it."

"But wait!" Tifa argued, "What about me?!"

"Roxas, take off that dress." Cid ordered. "Not now, I mean, later. And give it to Tifa. Tifa, you're a cashier again. If you don't start smiling you'll be fired. Now get to work." He turned and entered his office without another word. Yuffie blinked like Roxas did, then looked at the boy, then at Tifa, and blinked again. "Okay." She sighed, "I guess he saw something in you that reminded him of her…"

"Her who?" Roxas asked innocently.

"Late Mrs. Highwind." Yuffie answered, "She was a great pastry chef. I was her apprentice… Anyway, go get that dress off now and get an apron; Tifa, don't start it."

Both Roxas and Tifa did as they were told. Yuffie decided to start with cupcakes; small and easy to make.

-- Ten minutes later --

"Okay… Good." Yuffie complimented as she watched Roxas pour in the batter into the cupcake liners carefully. Then the blond proceeded to place the tray into the oven.

"It should be ready in about 30 minutes." She checked her watch, "Stay here and watch for the time. I have to go work on the cakes."

Roxas nodded, watching behind her as she moved to the larger part of the kitchen and started busying herself with cake orders. The blond suddenly started to sneak ingredients out, smelling here and there and tasted some supplies by himself. He found what he needed and turned to the oven, setting the timer to 25 minutes. With a satisfied smile he started to work with the ingredients he collected.

-- 30 minutes later --

"Roxas how are your…" Yuffie trailed off when she saw the blond working on something else. "W-What are you doing?"

The blonde was too busy to look up, "I'm making cupcakes."

"Stop! You're not following the recipe!" The girl went up and tried to snatch the tool from Roxas' hands; the boy pushed her hand away, though.

"Don't worry; I know what I'm doing." Roxas said as he finished dipping the last half-baked vanilla cupcake into white chocolate icing, placing them back into new paper cups. Yuffie blinked perplexedly, watching as Roxas applied whipped cream onto the cupcakes after the white chocolate dried and scattered colored sprinkles on top of that.

"There we go! Ta-da!" Roxas put aside the tools and smiled to Yuffie, who was still confused.

"Here, try this." The blond boy handed her one of the confectioneries. The short-haired girl took it, had a bite, and considered the flavor before realizing the brilliance of Roxas' creative idea.

"Hm… This is _good_…" Yuffie said after swallowing. Instead of doing the traditional sponge-cake-body plus icing-on-top, Roxas had coated the entire cake body with smooth white chocolate icing and used whipped cream on top instead to give a renewing variety.

"See?" The boy grinned. Yuffie smiled and picked up the tray, entering Cid's office to give the storeowner a try (and also Tidus who was [always slacking in Cid's office). Both were impressed with the new idea and Cid agreed to put them onto the products' list. Tifa was introduced to the treat too and finally admitted her defeat by Roxas.

"There's one more left…" Tidus pointed to the tray where two cupcakes sat (Roxas hadn't tried it yet; one extra), "I'll take it!"

"You keep your hands to yourself!" Yuffie slapped the boy's hand away, "Roxas, take the extra with you; you made it, after all."

"But what do I do with it?" Roxas looked at the two cakes in his hands, "I don't want two…"

"See? I said I'll take-"

"I don't know… Share it with your girlfriend or something… It's the first product you've ever made!" Yuffie cheered.

_Share it with my girlfriend…?_ Roxas pouted internally, _but I don't have a girlfriend…_

-- After work that day --

Roxas happily exited the store with the box of two cupcakes in his hand. When he waited for his car a noise to his left distracted him. He turned and saw a dirty old beggar with ragged clothes digging into a bowl, retrieving two rusted pennies. It was then that he was reminded of Axel. The young beggar was sure a big contrast to the old beggar that stole his two abandoned pennies; Roxas wondered how Axel managed to keep himself clean.

"Sir? Sir? Lord Roxas?" The driver's voice snapped him out of his train of thought, "Are you alright?"

"Yes." The blonde nodded, "Um, I have somewhere I want to go…"

"Where is that?"

"I mean, I'll go by foot." Roxas reworded his statement, "Can you wait here for a while?"

"Yes, but… are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?"

"It's alright. I'll walk." Roxas smiled calmingly, "Just wait for a quick while."

He turned on his heel and headed for the same subway station.

-- Subway station --

Roxas was relieved to find Axel there. It seemed like the redhead had made this his new spot now.

"So you are here." Roxas greeted, successfully diverting Axel's attention from the gliding traffic.

"Roxas?" Axel asked, startled, "What are you doing here?"

"Work just ended." Roxas threw a casual finger around, slightly shy, "Um… I was wondering… are you hungry?"

Axel looked away, snorting contemptuously, "What? I said I don't need your pity. Are you trying to give me food or money again? No, I'm not hungry."

His stomach betrayed him all too easily.

Roxas giggled at the embarrassing growling the redhead's tummy made and sat down next to him. "Here." He opened the box in his hands and handed Axel one of the cupcakes.

"I said I don't want your food." Axel looked even farther away.

"Oh… really?" Roxas pouted disappointedly, staring at the small confectionery, "I made it with much effort…" He mumbled almost inaudibly under his breath.

Axel caught the saddened tone and looked at the boy's disappointed expression; a sour acidic feeling seeped through his heart. Rolling his eyes at himself for being too nice, he sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll take it. For the sake of you not crying."

"I'm not going to cry!" Roxas retorted immediately; but gave Axel his little food nonetheless. They silently enjoyed the treat; Axel never finding cupcake this delicious ever before in his life.

"Hey, Axel?" Roxas asked adorably with his mouth full, "What were you doing before you became like this?"

"…Lawyer." Axel answered after a pause.

"And then that… that guy stole your money?" Roxas asked hesitantly, feeling that it was inappropriate to butt into others' business.

"Yeah." Axel replied simply, "I should've known… I was a lawyer; I knew what responsibility I would have if he disappeared. But still I agreed to help him; and look what mess I got myself into."

"How did you pay the debts?" Roxas asked, "What about your parents?"

"Haven't got any," Axel answered. "My father left us when I was seven; my mother committed suicide when I was nine. That bastard father of mine was a gambler. He borrowed money from illegal usurers. Days at my family weren't really peaceful. It was either my parents arguing or usurers coming in and breaking things. It only got worse when my father left. They came every day, demanding an insane amount of money from my mother that no one would be able to pay. Then she finally shot herself when I was nine. I didn't want to be like my father; always so ignorant of his rights. Cheated by the casino; cheated by the usurers; cheated by himself. So I became a lawyer; I thought this way I wouldn't be so ignorant like him. But it seems like that failed… Anyway, when he disappeared I had to declare bankruptcy. It was the only thing I could do. With everything sold, I barely made the cut. But then I had nothing left. And I couldn't find a job. Pfff, no one will hire a bankrupt lawyer." Axel laughed leniently.

Roxas didn't understand how he could still laugh at times like this. "You should go find a job! Don't wander around here! Don't laugh!"

"As if…" Axel snorted, "Like I said, no one wanted to hire a bankrupt lawyer. They think I must be stupid because I got cheated off of. It's useless to resist… This world is too harsh… I'm not a survivor."

"How can you say that?!" Roxas suddenly stood up, furious. "I don't think it's because the world is too harsh or anything! It's not harsh by the way. I think it's simply because you're giving up!" The blond argued with a stubborn pout, "Look at you! You're young and all healthy except you're just a little too skinny! I mean, unless if you're disabled then maybe that explains why you're unemployed; but you're fine! You can walk, run, talk, laugh, jump and do all these stuff but you can't find a job?! You think the world's too harsh?! You're just making up excuses because you don't want to face your past and you don't want to work, maybe because you're… I don't know! Lazy!"

The redhead was shocked by the sudden outburst and sat dumbly with nothing to say. Roxas was frowning agitatedly when he finished. "Go get a job, loser!" That was the last thing he said before he stormed away, returning to where his driver was waiting for him.

"Sir, are you alright?" The driver asked on the way back.

"I don't know…" Roxas sighed, looking at his clenching and unclenching fist, "What do you call this feeling? It's like… I want to go up to this person and drag him up from his cowardice. I want to yell in his face so that he could hear me clearly and would finally face the truth. I want to change how he thinks of the world… I don't know what's wrong with me…"

"Sir, if you're simply talking about the feeling, that's called frustration and anger." The driver smirked, "But if you're talking about that specific person, it's called care."

-- Two weeks later --

Roxas had become an essential part of the kitchen. He had started making more intermediate dessert like parfaits, clafoutis and torte. Yuffie even started to let him help in some parts of the catering orders. Roxas loved this job; his smile never left his face. His attention always retained solely on the bakery in his hands. Presently he was drizzling strawberry glaze over an angel food torte; the fragrant scarlet syrup filled the kitchen with an elegant aroma.

"Oh my goodness, Roxas…" Tifa said as she went into the kitchen to pick up a ready plate of a slice of the Death by Chocolate cake. "Whatever you're making smells so freaking good…"

Roxas chuckled, completing the torte with fresh strawberry garnishment on top. "Angel Food Strawberry torte for table 3." He handed the dessert to black haired girl, quickly continuing on mixing the ingredients for the enriched chocolate truffles. Just as Tifa left the kitchen, though, Tidus came in.

"Roxas, someone's looking for you." The boy threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the door that led to the store's front. Roxas blinked, wondering who would be looking for him. He washed his hands and went out.

Who he saw next was completely unexpected. Not only was it because of the fact that he didn't expect to ever see that person again, or that the person_logically_ will not come here; but also the fact that the person now revealed something he never showed before, which completely changed his impression on Roxas' mind.

"Axel…?!" The blond whispered skeptically, hands and legs moving faster than his brain when he pushed the redhead out of the shop, "What are you doing here?! And… what's wrong with your hair?!"

"My hair…?" The redhead looked up as if he could see his hair that way, "They've always been like this…"

"They…have?" Roxas echoed, suddenly realizing that he has never seen Axel's hair; or barely, at least. "Now that you mention it, I've never seen your hair before… You were always wearing that beanie… Are they naturally that red?" He tickled a tuft of Axel's hair, surprised to find it soft.

"Um, yeah." Axel said as if that should've been the most obvious thing on earth, "Anyway, I thought over what you told me last time; and I figured that you're right… So I went to find a job, and I ended up in the law intern trainee class again." He scratched the back of his head, laughing, "Seems like I can never get out of the lawyer field. But you see, I only passed the first written test. And then it's the real training. The problem is… intern _trainees_ aren't paid yet, and eventually I'll have to get a suit for the interview later."

"Wait… what?" Roxas frowned, confused by the complicated web of employment of the adult world, "You mean, you're being trained to become an intern which is still a training job? For no money?"

"Kind of." Axel didn't know how to explain it, "Let me say it as a story… What's happening now is that a group of kids went to the sorcerer and they all asked to be his apprentice. But the sorcerer only wanted one apprentice, so they all had to be trained by the sorcerer for a few months and then the sorcerer will decide who gets to be his apprentice. The kids don't get candies during this period of time." The redhead said, "And before the sorcerer truly decides, there is one last test that the kids all have to dress up nicely as princes when they take it. After the sorcerer has decided, _then_ the apprentice will start to learn magic for real and eventually he too will become a sorcerer."

"Okay…" Roxas nodded his head, "And right now you are one of the kids only_applying_ to be the sorcerer's apprentice?"

"Yes…" Axel sighed, relieved that the boy understood it, "So I don't get paid right now… But hey, at least I found something to fight for."

"That's good." Roxas grinned.

"…And, um, I have a favor to ask of you…" Axel started embarrassedly. "When the final test comes… the guys will interview me. But I don't have anything nice to wear…" The redhead looked at his white long sleeve shirt that he picked up somewhere from one of his occasional visits to the city-ran homeless shelter.

"No worries on that! I'll get you a nice suit!" Roxas smiled innocently, "But you have to promise me that you'll pass the test."

"I won't be so sure on that…" Axel began logically, but stopped when he remembered Roxas' illogical perspective towards the world. "Okay, I promise."

"Yay!" Roxas cheered and before he could control it, he gave Axel a hug. "We both have to do our best!"

----

In the following months, Roxas dedicated most of his attention to improving his cooking skills. Yuffie finally allowed him to bake cakes; the first one he did was a Red Velvet cake covered by Vanilla Butter-cream icing and topped with blackberries. Yuffie had a slice and described that it was soft, delicious and sentimental. The rest of the cake was actually put into the store for sale.

On the other hand, Axel had become a frequent guest to the library, even though the librarian sometimes threw him out for loitering in the public building for too long. His day was now divided into two simple sections: 8AM to 5PM was the office time in the law firm and the rest of the day was study time. He'd been doing tons of reading and studying, although it became harder and harder to concentrate because he found himself falling asleep over half of the times. More reasons for the librarian to throw him out.

It was a raining that day. The library was closed because it was their rest day. The redhead had nowhere to go; it was too late for the stores to stay open. Axel hid a book and paper under his shirt, trying not to get anything wet. Running along a dim street of closed stores, he hurried into one last shop that still had lights on.

Roxas was practicing how to make royal icing when he thought he heard something outside. Strange… Tidus should have locked the front door. Cid only left him the key because he wanted to stay behind to perfect the skill. Who could it be? The door must have the 'closed' sign on…

"Axel?" Roxas blinked, "We're closed."

"Huh?" Axel looked back at the door, then at the boy again, "Sorry, but it's pouring out there…" He said, boldly taking off his soaked white shirt in front of the boy.

"Oh…" Roxas said, blushing lightly and turning his head to the bad weather, "Okay… I guess you can stay here. I'll be staying up until around nine." He gestured to the kitchen where his icing was probably hardening. "Just don't try to steal anything," He added with a snort.

Axel rolled his eyes and set the book onto one of the tables in the cafeteria area, "So, I can stay here and work, right?"

"Yeah." Roxas smiled, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Axel nodded and started his regular reading. He was concentrating all fine in the beginning, knowing that he was not alone in this strive. But then he saw it; through the fat round window on the door leading to the kitchen, he saw the way Roxas was lost in his own world when he focused on the cake he was making. The way his eyes fixed on the most detailed part, the way he so gently placed the small baby-blue roses frostings around the pure white cake body glazed with royal icing, the way his lips opened cutely like a confused baby does. It was hypnotizing. Soon Axel came in everyday just to see Roxas continue working on his first four-tier wedding cake.

What he didn't know was that Roxas stayed late after work every day just to wait for him. Yuffie would sometimes tell him not to push himself so much because the wedding cake isn't due until Valentine's Day anyway; but Roxas insisted he stay after work for it. Somehow he had starting feeling like taking care of Axel is a duty which he is absolutely willing to complete. Sometimes he'd make small confectioneries like chocolate-powdered caramel brittles or hazelnut mocha truffles; other times Axel would be his experimental white rat and eat those things that no one had ever had before. At times like this, the redhead would first screw up his face, and then laugh at Roxas when the boy actually believed that his food was repulsive. After a while of whining and laughing, Axel would resume work, Roxas falling asleep of tiredness. Then the redhead could stare at the blond for all he wanted. How lucky of him.

-- A few days before Axel's final interview --

Axel woke up early at the homeless shelter; he was excited. Finally he was going to get the suit today; finally he was going to change, to change back into that young, ambitious and confident self that had a prospering future waiting. He washed himself with what little limit of water the shelter provided and started out for the bakery.

Roxas met him at the door, looking forward to the day. They went to Henry Poole & Co., the blond taking all sorts of suits in all sorts of color to match. There was a lot of Axel being spun around, standing in front of the mirror, changing in the fitting room, more spinning, more changing, color-matching by Roxas again. The boy stood in between Axel and the mirror, facing the redhead and pondering whether a sapphire tie or a navy blue tie looks better with the light colored shirt. Axel was ordered to change into the outfit and came back out. Roxas went up and carefully adjusted Axel's tie.

"Do you think we look like a married couple to those guys?" Axel chuckled as he eyed the other customers, neck stretched for the blond to work with the troublesome necktie.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas blushed madly, "We're both guys."

"So? People could think you're a girl with the things you're wearing." Axel pointed out. Indeed Roxas was wearing a tight violet-muave striped zip-up jacket in mid-thigh length with sleeves long enough to cover half of his hands, his denim jeans was striped purple-taupe at the legs and his shoes were a simple pair of dark magenta Converse. Anyone could easily mistake him as a girl what with his pouts and adorable faces.

"Oh stop speaking nonsense." Roxas rolled his eyes. He failed to notice the fading of smile on the redhead's lips.

Finally the blond decided on five sets of outfits for the tailor to start measuring. The duo was informed that the suits would be ready in three days. Roxas decided that he should keep the suits just in case the people in the homeless shelters might try to steal them. It was the first time Axel had seen Roxas doubting the world.


	3. Part 3 of 3

**Sugar Rush**

Disclaimer: Don't own any KH rights.

Warning: AkuRoku romance below. Boy-boy relationship. Rated T for language.

* * *

Pt.3 

-- On the day of the interview --

Roxas woke up earlier than usual, quickly went through his morning routine and set out for the day. Axel promised to be at the store at 10AM. The driver drove him down to London like always, until the blond was reminded of how there should be some pens in the front pocket of a suit as they quickly passed by one of those fancy jewelry shops that sold a simple pen for a hundred pounds. He was going to demand the driver to stop, but then he thought maybe it was too much trouble for the chauffeur to make a U-turn in a narrow snow-covered street so he just let him continue driving and he'd walk back to the jewelry store from the bakery.

Roxas quickly handed the suits to Yuffie, telling her to take care of them until he came back, and walked back to the store to admire a collection of marble fountain pens.

He had just laid eyes on the perfect pen when the glass door was blasted open and gunfire broke the silence in the store. Women screamed and people ducked. The ceiling of the store was completely destroyed in seconds by bullets, the lamps shattering and raining glass shards onto the people below. There was a moment of total chaos mixed with gunshots, shrieking and yelling. The robbers were yelling at the terrified customers, ordering them to sit at a side of the store. Among the pushing and pulling Roxas was thrown into the same pile of people that were quivering and whimpering in fear. Two gunmen aimed their deadly guns towards the crowd, looking out for the two other accomplices that were grabbing the jewels and money from various cabinets.

Roxas had never felt this horrified in his life before. He couldn't think; he only stared blankly at the burglars as they endlessly shoved undeserved prizes into their bags.

----

Axel expected to find Roxas at the bakery, but the boy was nowhere in sight. It was nine thirty and he really had to go. Yuffie gave him his suits and told him that Roxas had went off to some store for something; she sighed and wished him good luck, telling him not to worry about the boy. The redhead exited the store doubtfully, disappointed by the absence of the blonde. It was such an important day to him… It is the turning point of his beggar life and it marked the happenstance of a miracle. How could Roxas not be here…? The more he thought about it the sadder he got; maybe Roxas just didn't care about him after all… Axel was a beggar to begin with anyway. Or maybe Roxas thought Axel was trying to steal his money? Did he do anything that seemed untrustworthy? The poor redhead kept questioning himself on his way back to the law firm, unaware of the situation at the other side of the story…

----

The robbers were finishing up now… They've got everything with them now… They were now taking things from the customers. They're almost done, almost able to get out… They can almost walk right out of there, with no guilt, no punishment, no penalty… It infuriated Roxas. It was unjust. They had bestowed so much fear onto these people in the last ten minutes or so and they could just walk right away with bags of treasures that they didn't deserve?!

A hissing breath that sounded like someone having difficulty breathing diverted Roxas' attention from the image of the thieves' legs to the old man beside him. The man coughed, pressing a hand against his chest as he tried hard to breathe. Roxas whispered harshly, "What's wrong?" for a few times, before he heard a fragmented "asthma" from the old man's lips. Scanning around Roxas found an inhaler lying among the broken glass on the floor. All Roxas could think of doing was try to creep over to the inhaler as slowly as he could.

He was only two steps away until a click right above his forehead made him froze. He didn't even blink at this point. He could feel the icy gun tunnel pressed against his skin, maybe bruising a circle.

It was of point blank distance. Was this it? Was he going to die? He could see his life flashing back before his eyes; all the things he loved; all the people he cared about. And when the gun pressed harder, the only face left in his mind was…

"What are you doing, kid?" The gunman asked in an obnoxious tone, "Trying to go against us, huh?"

"N-No." Roxas gulped down his broken voice, "T-That man… he has asthma… H-He can't… breathe… He needs the inhaler…" Roxas glanced to his right as if in that way he could see the old man who was behind him. The robber looked over his shoulder and chuckled, "Heh… Trying to be a hero now, huh?"

"Vexen, what are you doing?!" Another robber hissed, "C'mon let's go! The police will be here!" The hints of smile on the man's eyes' wrinkles dissolved into alarm as he too stood up. Roxas' shoulders slumped, although it didn't relief him of the anger that rose up in his heart. He crawled up and grabbed the inhaler, returning and placed it in the old man's hands.

The thieves were ready to leave except that Roxas' little interference had slowed them by seconds and the police were here. They retreated back into the store; the guy named Vexen realizing that the situation was really bad for them. Hastily he yanked Roxas up who just handed the old man his inhaler and pressed his gun against the boy's temple. There was another session of screams and whimpers. Roxas tensed up again, fears swimming in his eyes as he looked at his rescuers just a few feet ahead but they were all blocked back by an invisible force of terror.

"Drop the guns and surrender…" The police speaker echoed, "If you harm anyone, it will only add to your guilt when you are caught…"

Oh, but they're not caught yet! With Roxas as the hostage, Vexen was able to let his accomplices escape through the back door.

----

Axel readjusted his tie for a third time. It was still seven minutes away from his turn. Roxas still hasn't contacted him yet. He sighed, pacing back and forth in the waiting room. Reaching into his pocket he felt something to his fingertips; he pulled a receipt out. Roxas' number was on there.

After a while of debating with himself he decided to call the blonde using the office's phone.

----

The intense situation was not helped when Roxas' cell phone rang. Everyone gasped; and Roxas was lucky that Vexen didn't accidentally discharge his gun. Everything was still for a few seconds, the phone just kept ringing. No one dared to move. After a while Vexen was tired of the constant ringing and ordered Roxas to answer the call, but also to be careful about what he would say.

The boy slowly reached into his pocket for the mobile and took it out, placing it against his ear, "H-Hello?"

"Um… Roxas? Hey, it's me." Roxas' eyes widened at the heartbreakingly beautiful voice. "Er… Yeah, it's my turn in about five minutes… I thought… you…"

"I-I…" Roxas choked; his tears refused to stop. "I'm sorry, Axel. I… I have to…"

"Is something wrong…?" This only brought more tears. "You sound… not fine…"

"No, no. I'm fine." Roxas sniffed, "I just… have a cold…"

"Oh… okay."

"Listen, I'm sorry I can't be there. Just… do your best, okay?" Roxas wished Axel good luck with all his heart, "You've worked so hard on this; God would look out for you, so don't worry about it, okay? Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Okay." Axel said, a smile redeeming on his face, "…Erhm…. Will you be there when it's over?"

Hell, he doesn't even know if the interview will be over first or he will be over first. "I… I'll try." Roxas sniffed again, "I'll try."

With a call of his name from the background, Axel hastily said goodbye before hanging up. After that the blonde was ordered to drop the phone by Vexen. Roxas let his arm go limp, the cell phone dropping onto the ground. Vexen stomped harshly on the cell phone, smashing it into useless fragments. Roxas closed his eyes; tears rolling down his cheeks sleekly. This was too much; too much pressure for him to handle. When will this be over? The police and Marluxia were stalled in a stalemate. Neither side dared to make a move.

----

Axel left the interview office with a smile on his lips. He felt confident about his performance; after all, he's done this before and succeeded. He's just doing it again this time; though his smile diminished when it became apparent that Roxas was not there. Anger rose up in the redhead's heart; it was Roxas who started all this, and now he's just gonna walk away?! And what was with using a cold as an excuse?! Had Roxas learned how to lie now?

Infuriated, Axel went for the office phone again. It only got worse; Roxas didn't pick up. A sudden feeling of abandonment overwhelmed Axel, leaving him furious. With a grim frown on his face he left for the pastry store.

-- At Highwind Pastry and Confectionery --

Axel entered the shop anxiously, his heart knotting inside out. He went up to the counter where Tidus greeted him.

"Has Roxas come back yet?"

"Roxas? No, I haven't seen him around all day." Tidus replied sincerely. A roaring siren zoomed past the shop outside as an armed response vehicle of SO19 **(1)** officers flew down along the street. Everyone's eyes trailed behind the vehicle. What could be the severe emergency on such a wide fine day?

Suddenly Cid blasted from the kitchen, hastily leaving the shop without a word. Yuffie stepped out of the kitchen too, looking after her boss with a terribly worried expression. Axel witnessed the incident and asked, "What's going on?"

"Y-You don't know yet?" Yuffie gulped slightly, concerned, "Roxas, he… there's a robbery at the shop… he's stuck… The guy… Roxas is being held hostage…"

"W-What?" Axel asked, eyes wide with bewilderment, "Where is he?! Where is he?!" He gripped her wrists.

"At a jewelry shop, down two blocks, I think… I don't know…!"

Axel dashed down the street like Cid did moments ago.

----

Roxas' neck was starting to get sore from the constant choke asserted by Vexen's arm. The police continued to try persuading the criminal to give up. The boy was terrified; that haunting restless feeling boiling in his stomach. A loud police vehicle skidded to a stop behind one of the police cars with a screech. Armed special unit officers started pouring out. Vexen was intimidated; he started shuffling backwards with Roxas towards the backdoor. The crowd of the other customers sobbed and moved away from the robber. Roxas didn't understand; there were so many of them, and only one robber left. Why didn't anyone try to help him?

The area was fenced by police officers when Axel got there. There were spectators and people clamoring around. The redhead fought his way to the front, horrified when he found the boy held at gunpoint.

"Roxas!!!" Axel was held back by a police officer, "Roxas!!"

"Sir! I need you to stay back! This area is dangerous!" The officer yelled. Another much younger policeman came up and reported with a salute, "Sir! All the accomplices are caught from the back alley and the back of the store is surrounded! Sniper team is ready for fire command, Sir!"

"Alright!" The officer said, "Take care of this guy for me!" He threw the redhead to the young policeman and ran into a narrow alley. Axel glanced back at the store where Vexen was reaching the backdoor closer and closer; Roxas' eyes were trained on Axel's.

_Believe in me, Roxas…_ Axel nodded determinedly before following the officer into the alley.

Vexen thought he would be free when he opened the door, only to find himself entirely surrounded by armed SO19 officers. Roxas whimpered when the gun was pressed closer to his temple, bruising his skin.

"W-Why are you doing this?" Roxas suddenly whispered, "You shouldn't do this… You'll get shot. You'll get punished…"

"Shut up!" The criminal yelled, "It's all your fault!! It's…"

Axel arrived behind the circle of officers with the police commander.

"…all your fault! You made us delay! You caused this! You asked for it!" Vexen was breaking down; he knew he'd lose either way. His finger was starting to bump with the trigger. A sniper officer on a balcony tensed, aiming for the man's arm. He spoke into his headset, "Subject is not stable. Sniper constable D2208 requests for permission to fire; over."

The commander looked at the pack of accomplices locked up in a police truck, "Permission granted for non-lethal shot. All sniper units hold your fire. D2208 don't fire until you have a clear shot, over."

In a blink, a shot was fired into Vexen's arm. The man screamed; his injured arm no longer able to hold Roxas captive. Roxas took a second to recover from the shock and ran. Axel pushed past the officers to get to the blonde. The policemen were advancing towards Vexen…

Both Roxas and Axel thought they'll be fine now, until the dying thief pointed up his pistol at Roxas' back. Axel only had a split moment to widen his eyes and tackle Roxas down onto the ground before Vexen fired, a burning sensation scraped pass the redhead's left arm. The officers immediately fired their machine guns, raining bullets onto Vexen, killing the criminal on the spot.

Roxas shrieked, tears dripping from his eyes as he looked at the wounded Axel. The redhead grunted, trying to support himself with the other arm, "Roxas… Are you okay?"

"I-I'm okay, but you're bleeding…" The blond sobbed, "Police! Help!"

"I'm okay… I think the bullet only swept pass me…" Axel groaned; relieved as paramedics from the front of the store (they were already there to help those other customers) came to rescue…

-- A month later --

It was finally Valentine's Day. Roxas smiled as he looked at his perfectly finished wedding cake. How he secretly wished he could have his own wedding cake one day…

"Someone's lovesick." Yuffie joked, a cheerful smile on her face, "C'mon, the cake needs to be sent." She said as she handed the blonde the tall cover of the cake box. Roxas chuckled and carefully fitted the cover over, letting Tifa and Tidus move it into the catering truck.

Cid closed the store earlier that day, allowing his employees go home to do whatever they want with their significant others. Roxas dropped a quick trip to a supermarket, buying various ingredients for a cake…

----

Axel returned to his apartment with much exhaustion. Going to the court for a _divorce_ case on _Valentine's Day_ is really not a nice thing. He rolled his neck a little, stopping when he noticed the warm light rays pouring out from the door gap at the bottom. A smirk grew on his lips at this and he searched for his keys, opening the door.

Immediately a pair of hands covered his eyes childishly. Axel chuckled, "What's the event, Roxas?"

"Just wait…" The blond giggled, guiding Axel around in his unfamiliarly new apartment. They stopped somewhere and Roxas let go of his hands, "Ta-da!"

There, sitting in the middle of the dining table, was a beautiful heart-shaped white-chocolate glazed Angel Food cake.

Axel smiled and turned to Roxas, "That cake's beautiful, Roxas; but I don't think I need Angel Food cake anymore."

"Why is that?" The blond blinked.

"Because you're my sweetest sugar." Axel expressed before capturing Roxas' lips in a breathtaking kiss.

* * *

(1) SO19 is the abbreviation for the police firearms unit in London; it's like SWAT in the US. 

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! I know the whole character development thing was too rushed... but hey! This could've taken up ten chapters instead so don't complain XD And don't forget to leave a review if you liked it:)


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